Below is Note to all tour-guests written in 2020:
A Chairde/Dear Friends,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
It is the most surreal celebration of our patron Saint and our Irish identity in living memory. An unwelcome guest (normally a contradiction in terms in Ireland) has arrived on our shores. Coronavirus.
We trust our Government is making the right decision and closing the country down. Tourism has temporarily died. We hope the virus will soon do the same and travel to Ireland can be reborn!
Just to be safe we have temporarily closed our beloved travel HQ, Milltown House on Dingle Harbour for a few weeks and offer tour-guests on April departures the opportunity to change dates to June, August and September or get a full refund.
We pray the virus will be under control soon and our lives will return to normal.
Patrick and I, the ‘Essential Ireland’ travel gurus, predict that our small VIP style tours of Ireland will be sold-out from June to October. Our friends and tour-guests are chomping at the bit to get here once all is well.
Not to make light of the present situation, but we Irish have overcome bigger obstacles in our history than the Coronavirus pandemic. And before anyone writes in to suggest otherwise, do remember over a million of us died of hunger in a beautiful Island full of food from 1845-49. So this catastrophe is not a new experience in our collective genetic DNA.
The economic damage will be horrific though, lets face it. And if you love Ireland then this is an ideal year to help our economy by investing your hard earned cash in a life-affirming, educational and fun tour of our Wild Atlantic Away.
Keep safe, wash your hands and see you on the road and in the music-filled pubs of Ireland.
Is mise le meas/from me to you with respect,
Stephen McPhilemy
Co-founder and Chief Guide
